Biden sees dip in support amid new COVID cases

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is facing a summer slump, with Americans taking a notably less positive view of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his job approval rating ticking down.

A new poll from The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 54 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, down slightly from 59 percent last month. While that’s still a relatively solid rating for a president during his first year in office, particularly given the nation’s deep political polarization, it’s a worrying sign for Biden as he faces the greatest domestic and foreign policy challenges of his presidency so far.

The biggest warning sign for the president in the survey centers on his handling of the pandemic. Last month, 66 percent of Americans approved of his stewardship of the public health crisis; now, that number has fallen to 54 percent, driven by a drop in support from Republicans and independents.

That decline in support coincides with other storm clouds gathering over Biden’s presidency, most notably the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan as U.S. troops withdraw and the Taliban cement their control of the country.

The poll, conducted Aug. 12-16, as news of the Taliban’s movement into Kabul was widely reported in the United States, shows Americans about evenly divided over Biden’s handling of foreign policy (47 percent approve, 51 percent disapprove) and national security (52 percent approve, 46 percent disapprove).